A banned driver led police on a dangerous high-speed chase through the streets of Sunderland while "test driving" a Saab he'd bought.
James Hart was unemployed and disqualified from driving when he decided to purchase a vehicle and fix it up in order to keep himself busy while out of work. But the 29-year-old got behind the wheel of the silver Saab on March 1, last year, and illegally took it out for a test drive. When patrolling police officers attempted to pull him over, he instead took off and led them on a chase where he hit speeds of up to 70mph in residential areas.
Hart, of High Street West, Sunderland, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday to be sentenced for dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, and driving without insurance. He pleaded guilty to the charges at a previous hearing.
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Ellen Wright, prosecuting, said police were on duty in a marked vehicle when their attention was drawn to Hart's Saab at 4.45pm. "Police conducted a moving vehicle check and checked the licence plate. Following the checks, the officers activated the blue lights and sirens in order to bring the car to a stop."
But rather than pull over, Hart instead took a turn right and sped off, driving down residential streets before hitting speeds of up to 60mph on Newcastle Road. He continued to drive down the "central area" of the carriageway which forced other motorists to move out of his way. Ms Wright said that the police estimated Hart was at one point driving at around 70mph in a 30mph zone as he was "swerving around other vehicles".
The pursuit continued through Sunderland and Hart "swerved" into Whickham Street, mounting a kerb before eventually coming to a stop and running away from his vehicle. He was caught soon after. Ms Wright said that the police believed it was "pure luck" nobody was injured or any property damaged during the chase.
The court heard Hart had a "bad history" for driving offences and had eight previous convictions for 16 offences, including drink driving in 2017 and driving whilst disqualified.
Kate Barnes, defending, said Hart had an "incredibly impressive work ethic" and said he joined the Army when he was 16-years-old. She said once he left the Armed Forces, he had rarely been out of work but did end up being unemployed around the time of the offence. She said: "He had the opportunity of buying a vehicle he could rebuild, which would keep him occupied during his unemployment. It was during the test drive he was seen by police and he took off hoping he could evade being arrested."
Ms Barnes added that since the offence, Hart has volunteered in the community and had recently started his own plastering business. She said: "All of his savings have went into starting up that business. He knows all of that now is in jeopardy. He is a young man who has great promise and has made a terrible mistake."
Sentencing Hart, Judge Tim Gittins said it was "extremely serious offending". He said: "On that day you should not have been in that vehicle at all, let alone driving it dangerously. It went on for some time and at grossly excessive speeds."
Hart was jailed for 10 months and was banned from driving for three years and five months.
